The present invention relates to wireless services, and more particularly, to the creation and implementation of customer-specific wireless services.
Typically, users (i.e., customers) of wireless networks request particular services from network providers, who develop customer-specific services based on the customers' requests. However, the turn-around time to develop and/or modify customer-specific services is significant. Moreover, as wireless technologies continue to develop and include additional services, such as multimedia services, for example, customers will require more unique, customer-specific wireless services.
The Intelligent Network-2 (IN2) framework developed by Bellcore in the 1980's included limited capability for customer-initiated and customer-driven service definition and creation. However, the IN2 framework fails to meet today's next generation wireless service creation and development needs in a number of ways. For example, the IN2 framework is tied too closely to outdated physical network technology to support delivery of custom features without changes to the network's service infrastructure. The IN2 framework lacks capabilities to test and validate the correctness and integrity of customer defined services in a timely and cost-effective manner. Also, the IN2 framework lacks customized exception handling for customer-defined services.
Additional drawbacks of the IN2 framework include the following. The IN2 servers have to be customized for customer needs, leading to slower development times. Once services are defined and implemented in the IN2 framework, there is no mechanism to modify and/or extend the capabilities of the services. The IN2 service definition and creation capabilities are quite limited and cannot be expanded. Moreover, validation and verification of customer-defined and developed services remains a significant problem in an IN2 framework.